Behind Blue Eyes
by KalaniKaloni
Summary: A story without a summary makes you kinda curious, huh?
1. Prologue

KalaniKaloni: Hey everybody! waves This is my first _Cold Case_ fanfiction, I hope you like it! Please review using that clicky-button marked "reviews"! Believe it or not, flames _are_ accepted! I like all kinds of feedback on my stories, not just positive ones. I believe they help me improve.

Lilly: And now, a word from our author.

KalaniKaloni: Ah, I don't want to type this! No! No! NO! fingers start to type uncontrollably

Disclaimers: I do not own _Cold Case_ nor any of its characters. They belong to people who have more than ten bucks stowed away in their dresser drawer, unlike _some_ people. (KalaniKaloni sweatdrops) So basically if you recognize them, I don't own them. Also, the song _Behind Blue Eyes_ belongs to The Who.

KalaniKaloni: Might as well start now...

_

* * *

June 13, 1997_

_"So how was your day?" This cheerful remark is uttered by a woman in her late 30s, short and a little overweight, with brown eyes and mousy brown hair. A gold heart-shaped locket hangs from around her neck. She had been washing dishes at the sink but stops as she turns to face her husband. He is tall in contrast to her shortness, has short black hair and vivid green eyes. These same emerald orbs now seem to be burning with an unknown fire as he snarls at his wife. The cheerfulness is gone now, and she wimpers with terror. _

_"I think you forgot something!" He spits in her face. "WHAT do you call me!" The woman moans and falls at her husband's feet, blubbering. He kicks her in the face, hard. "HONEY! _THAT'S _what you call me! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" He kicks her again, this time in the side._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...honey." She moans as she writhes about on the floor. _

_Watching this whole scene from the kitchen counter across the room, is a little girl. She is maybe six or seven, has stringy blond hair that is beginning to darken, and blue eyes. A navy-blue newsboy hat perches atop her head while she skillfully spoons macaroni and cheese into her mouth. Her eyes hold a look of disgust that seems to be mainly concentrated on the woman. The man she hardly looks at, even as he begins to repeatedly land blows on his wife with his sinewy fists. Finally he stops and storms out of the house. The girl doesn't even watch him; her gaze is still on the woman.

* * *

_

_Later

* * *

_

_The woman lies dead, her body brutally cut by what looks like a large knife. The girl is standing a few feet away, said knife clasped in one bloody hand, the gold locket in the other. Lights flash through the window as a policecar swings into the driveway. The driver of said car barges in through the back door only moments later. Behind him is the dead woman's husband. The little girl whips about, her eyes growing wide with terror. She bolts from the house, still holding the knife and locket. The cap flies from her head and rests next to the body, forgotten._


	2. Tessa

KalaniKaloni: I'm Baaaa-aaack! Sorry for the long wait, I kinda tend to futz with chapters. And I didn't notice until I was halfway through the chapter that the whole picture thing was just like from the "Boy in the Box" episode. I swear!And DUDE! What is up with the new rating thing? The old one was just fine:becomes frustrated and starts throwing things:

Lilly: Uh-oh!

Scotty: I think she's gonna blow!

Lilly: I think we better start the story before anyone gets hurt!

KalaniKaloni: Oh yes! And thank you for all the nice reviews!

* * *

"Hey, Boss, what's this?" Detective Lilly Rush picked up the white envelope that had been lying on her desk. She noticed that there was no seal as she opened it. She reached in and pulled out a photograph of a little girl. The girl looked to be about six or seven years old, had darkish-blond hair covered by a dark blue newsboy cap, blue eyes, and an obviously perfunctory grin. She was wearing a humongus sweatshirt that was pulled over her knees so you could just make out that she was wearing jeans. She had on dirty white socks. She was sitting on the front steps of a house that was painted a remarkably ugly shade of brown. Lilly's eyes went to the bottom right-hand corner of the picture in search of a date: May 17, 1997. She flipped over the card and saw, what looked like, newspaper-clipped letters spelling out THE KID DIDN'T DO IT.

"Walked in this morning and discovered it on my desk. I thought you might be interested in this." Lieutenant John Stillman replied. "It refers to a '97 case in which that girl was accused of murdering her 36-year-old aunt. Oh, don't look so surprised, Lil," said Stillman in response to the look of mingled horror and disgust on Rush's face. "Death was like that girl's shadow. Grab Valens and take a look through the case box of Valerie Hinze."

* * *

"Name's Theresa May Williams. Born in a small town in Colorado, house burned down when she was six. Both parents died in the fire, only living relatives live in Philly. Father's sister Valerie, and her husband, Christopher Hinze." Scotty read the choice piecies of information on the mysterious seven-year-old girl who now had a name: Theresa.

"Night of June 13, 1997, Christopher Hinze goes over to a friend's house to have a few beers, gets a phone call from a neighbor who reports seeing someone prowling around outside. Hinze calls the cops and arrives home a few minutes after them. Both run into the house to see little Theresa standing over her dead aunt holding a bloody knife and her aunt's locket. Kid bolted, hasn't been heard of since." Lilly finished reading the report and tossed it back into the case box.

"So, she's not only a murderer, she's a thief too." Scotty haphazardly put the lid back on the box and began carrying it to the stairs, oblivious to the photograph that slipped out from under the half-closed lid. Lilly stooped and picked it up, examining the face of Theresa Williams before flipping to the back.

"But according to this, she's not a murderer."

* * *

The house had been repainted. Now it was a blaring white that hurt the eyes if looked at too long. Lilly and Scotty stepped out of the police car and walked up the front porch steps. Since there was no doorbell, Valens balled his hand into a fist and knocked loudly on the screen door. They waited a few minutes until Lilly turned to her partner. "Must not be home. C'mon, let's go." They had just turned about to head back to the car when a voice stopped them.

"Help you?" questioned a smooth voice. The two detectives turned back around and noticed that a man in his late 30's or early 40's had opened the wooden door, but left the screen door closed and locked between him and Rush and Valens. He had black hair that was just beginning to go gray, tanned skin, and glimmering green eyes. Lilly felt a sudden, instant dislike for Christopher Hinze. Maybe it was the smell; a smell like cigarette smoke seemed to hover about the man. Scotty seemed not to notice it.

"Police. Detectives Rush and Valens," recited Lilly as she and Scotty flipped open their badges. "We're reopening the case of your wife's death." She watched carefully for Hinze's reaction. He looked blank for a moment before emmiting a sigh. Wordlessly, he opened the screen door and invited them into the house.

"Why are you looking into this again? I thought it was all solved in '97. My niece killed my wife in cold blood and ran away. Nothing to it." Hinze led them into what was clearly the den. There was a fireplace along one wall, a TV and bookshelf along the next one, a couch along the one across from the TV, and a recliner positioned to where it can view the TV and the couch at the same time. Lilly and Scotty were shown the couch while Hinze took the chair.

"You said, 'cold blood.' What did you mean by that?" Lilly resisted the urge to lie back on the cushions and go to sleep. She had been having trouble sleeping for the past few days.

"What I mean is that my niece and my wife appeared to get along..."

* * *

_"Where is she? Should be here by now. Go and check to see if the damn flight's been delayed." Hinze and his wife stand in the airport terminal, waiting for their niece's flight. Hinze taps his foot impatiently on the grimy airport carpet._

_"Don't be hard on her, Chris. I mean, her parents just died and she has never been outside of her town." Valerie Hinze places a sheaf of brown hair behind one ear and struggles not to begin crying. Her brother and his wife's death has affected both her and her niece tremendously. Her niece had stayed with a friend while all of the legal affairs had been put in order. Valarie stares at the floor, biting her lower lip. She jumps when the terminal doors whoosh open and a flood of people begin pouring out. Behind an enormously obese woman and a stick-thin man with a hideous toupee trudges a six-year-old girl with a blue cap perched on her head. She hugs a dirty blue backpack to her chest with one hand while fingering a gold locket that hangs around her neck with the other. Valerie recgonizes it as her late sister-in-law's._

_"Finally," Chris Hinze mutters under his breath. "That's it, right?" He snaps at the girl as she walks up to them, pointing at her backpack. She nods, while Hinze says, "Good, because baggage claim's too far away to walk to anyway." Valerie notices a single tear trickle down her niece's cheek._

_"Come on, Tessa. Let's go home." She whispers softly while taking the young girl's hand. Tessa slides the backpack around so its hanging by one strap on her back. She uses her now-free arm to wipe her eyes as she looks timidly at her aunt and gives a shy smile.

* * *

_

"Tessa?" It said on the file that her name was Theresa." Scotty fidgeted on the couch with a confused look on his face. Lilly gave him a quick nudge. Now was not the time to ask stupid questions.

Hinze barked out a laugh. "Everyone called her Tessa. The only time I ever saw real emotion from her was when someone called her by her whole name; she'd go into a rage until they called her Tessa." A hard chuckle burst from his lips. "That, and the fear that she showed when we caught her standing over my dead wife."

Lilly flipped through the file she held on her lap. "It says here that in 1997 you said that Tessa stole the locket from your wife, but just now you said that she was wearing it when she arrived." She stared at the green-eyed man in the chair, hoping that some sort of clue was about to be revealed. Hinze made a face.

"A girl that young with something that valuable? Stupidest thing I ever saw. Made her give it to my wife; she at least would be able to take a little better care of it." He stood up, Rush and Valens following his example. "It's been great talking to you, but I'm due at a friend's house. But, before I go," he stared Rush in the eye, "I think that it's pointless to reopen the case. It's obvious my niece is a little murderer, and besides," now a wry grin spread across his face, "even if she is innocent, how will you find her?"

* * *

"Well, I found him to be a smarmy bastard," said Lilly as Stillman asked her and Valens how the interview went. "He had a good point, though? How _do_ we find the girl? I mean, she could be anywhere. Could be dead for all we know."

"I'm afraid you're right, Lil. We'll just have to make do without her. Besides, she'd be about fourteen by now. Everyone knows that that's when those troublesome hormones kick in." Stillman sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Oh well." He stared off into space for a few minutes before looking back at Rush. "I want you to go home now Lilly, you look like you need some sleep. Badly."

Lilly stifled a yawn and didn't bother to argue for once. "All right, Boss."

* * *

Rush was startled when she pulled up to her apartment. A teenaged girl was leaning up against the wall on her porch. It wasn't until Lilly parked and stepped out of her car that the girl turned and looked at her. She was wearing a stained black shirt, ripped and filthy jeans, white sneakers that really couldn't be called white, and black gloves; the kind with the ends cut off so that the top half of the fingers were free. She had blond hair, more brown than blond actually, pulled back in a high ponytail and blue eyes. In an instant, Lilly saw a trapped seven-year old girl, than the vision was gone. "Hello, Tessa." She spoke from the driveway.

The girl grinned. "Got it right. Must've talked to my uncle. Good old Uncle Chris." Tessa made a face. "Does he still smell bad?"

Lilly grinned back while beginning to slowly advance toward her porch. "Yes, he does. Tessa, may I have a word with you?"

Tessa tapped on the mailbox. "No." She thumped on the mailbox again, the tin making a muffled ringing sound. She stood up straight and surprised Rush by fakingly bowing to her, complete with flourishes. While Lilly stood gaping from her driveway Tessa vaulted from the porch. "Nice talking to you. What's your name?" She called from across the street. Rush was too tired to chase after her, and curious to see what the girl had left in her mailbox.

"I'm Detective Lilly Rush. Why don't you come in?" She knew that her offer was too stupid to fool Tessa, but she was too tired to think of anything else. She was right; the fourteen-year-old made another face from across the street.

"Do I look dumb to you, Miz Lilly? Ha!" She sauntered up the street until she was gone from Lilly's sight. Rush turned to the mailbox and opened it. Inside, nestled among her other mail, was a folded sheet of paper. Lilly opened it and read the words printed there:

_This porch 10:00 PM tommorrow If you want me to talk BRING FOOD! and nothing nasty!_

_-Tessa_

Lilly grinned as she unlocked her door. This girl knew what she wanted.


	3. Questions

KalaniKaloni: I'm not dead, I swear. I just...um...

Lilly: Didn't update for about two months?

KalaniKaloni: Uh, yeah. I was going to update after the finale, but that didn't happen. And did you see what they did! They used the song I was going to use! I was so mad! GRRRRRR! Oh well. I managed to work it out. :grin: And now, the next chapter of Behind Blue Eyes!

* * *

_ Lilly is in her kitchen, pouring dry cat food into a plastic bowl. Olivia and Tripod, her cats, are nowhere in sight. She places the bowl of dry cat food on the kitchen floor and whistles. A red fox trots out from her living room to the kitchen. It looks imploringly at the bowl of dry cat food, then at Lilly. She nods. The fox delicately picks up a kibble with its teeth, tasting it. It obviously does not find the kibble to be in pleasure, for it spits it out upon the floor before looking at Lilly. She is not terribly surprised when the fox opens its mouth and begins to speak in the voice of Tessa Williams. "What were you thinking! This is nasty! Blech! Now I won't come and tell you anything, which sucks for you!" The fox begins to perform a curious little jig while chanting "sucks for you, sucks for you," over and over again. It finally stopped and looked Lilly in the eye. "Because you need me to solve this case, and I think you know it." Then the fox turned around and trotted back to the living room, leaving Lilly alone in the kitchen with the plastic bowl of dry cat food.

* * *

_

"Mornin' Lil. Coffee?" Lilly nodded and graciously accepted the plastic Starbucks cup from Jefferies. She sipped at the hot liquid, feeling it warm her insides. She toyed with the thought of telling him about Tessa, but decided to keep that nugget of knowledge to herself for now. When the time is right, I'll tell the boss. No one else. Especially not Scotty. Even though they had made up, she still felt some animosity towards him. "Lil, you paying attention? The boss is calling you." Rush snapped out of her thoughts and realized that Stillman was indeed calling to her from his office. She grinned sheepishly and entered the room, noticing with a flip-flop of her stomach that Valens was already there.

"As I was saying, before I realized that my words were going in one of Lilly's ears and out the other, I found the officer who was with Chris Hinze when they discovered the body. His name is Matthew Kimbar and he resigned after that night in '97. He now works as an editor for a local paper."

"A cop-turned-writer?" Scotty sounded skeptical. "I don't see that happening." Lilly kept quiet and sipped her coffee. She was thankful for her full night of sleep, but still needed some pep. Especially after the whole George fiasco.

"If I remember Kimbar correctly, he was always reading something when he was off duty. I personally think that this job suits him better than a cop." Stillman looked at Scotty, who sat properly chastised.

* * *

"Yeah, I remember Chris Hinze. We go back, way back." Matthew Kimbar sat behind a large plastic desk that was designed to look like wood. Jeffries and Vera sat opposite him, each perched on a high-back chair.

"Do you remember the night you found his wife dead? His niece did it, right?" Vera leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. Kimbar squirmed uncomfortable behind his desk.

"I never thought that the kid did it. I mean, she and Val were really close." Kimbar had gotten a very uneasy look in his eye, one that did not escape from Vera.

"Val, huh? You close with Hinze's wife? Maybe giving her a little extra on the side?" Kimbar jumped at Vera's question and slammed his hands on the desk. Vera noticed Kimbar's sudden blushing.

"It wasn't like that!"

"Not at first, right?" Vera and Kimbar both started as Jeffries quietly interrupted. He reclined on his chair with his arms folded across his chest. "Right?" he prompted again. Kimbar hung his head.

"Right..."

* * *

_ "Hey man, while you're up, why don't you get me another beer?" Chris Hinze is sitting in his his chair, his eyes glued to the football game playing on TV. Matthew Kimbar gets up, grumbling, from where he had been on the couch and pushes open the swinging door that leads to the kitchen. He is surprised when he finds a woman leaning against the counter, crying. She looks up when she hears the creaking of the door, poised like she is about to bolt._

_ "I-I'm sorry to be in your way. I'll just leave..." She turns to go, but Kimbar has already offered his handkerchief. He gives a little "go on" gesture and the woman takes it, looking very nervous._ _"You don't mind, do you?"_

_ This is the last thing Kimbar expects to hear. "Mind? Why on earth would I mind? You can keep it, for all I care." A confused look enters the woman's eyes. Suddenly the realization of who this is hits Kimbar. "You- You're Valerie, aren't you? Chris's wife." To Kimbar's amazement, the woman nods. This couldn't be the same Valerie that he had seen on Chris's wedding day. That Valerie had been happy, jubilant, with a devil-may-care smile and look in her eyes. This Valerie looked like she had nothing to live for. Only one thing could have caused this..._

_ Right as he is about to ask her, a voice floats in from the living room. "Hey, man, you die in there or something?" Kimbar calls back that he is fine, and hurriedly opens the fridge and grabs two Buds. He closes the door to find that Valerie Hinze has disappeared. He looks around and finds no one. He is just about to return to the living room when a voice from behind stops him._

_ "She wants to know if she can keep the hanky." A young girl wearing a weird blue hat stands in the middle of the kitchen. Kimbar stares at her for a moment, not quite sure who she is. The girl raises an eyebrow, clearly waiting for a reply. Kimbar stammers something about Yeah, sure, before heading back to the living room._

_ Hinze manages to tear his eyes away from the TV long enough to grab a beer. "What kept you? I almost had to get up and get my own damn beer."_

_ Kimbar sits on the couch, seemingly unable to get comfortable. "I didn't know you had a kid."_

_ "Kid? What ki- oh." A hard look that Kimbar does not like comes into Hinze's eyes. "She's my niece. I told her not to come out of her room. Did she bother you?"_

_ "No, not at all!" Kimbar tries to assure his friend, but the hard look he doesn't like remains in those green eyes..._

_

* * *

_

"And that's when you first met Valerie Hinze?" Vera asked, jotting everything Kimbar said on a little notepad.

"Well, I met her at the wedding, but she was so...different."

"And you started seeing her more?"

"I went just to help her at first. But I just felt so bad 'cause of what happened to her. I felt like I had to protect her." A faint smile came to Kimbar's face. "But she didn't need a protector, did she?" He seemed to ask himself.

"Are you talking about Tessa Williams?" Jeffries asked from his chair.

"Yeah. She really cared about Val. And when I found her that night, I just couldn't believe it."

Vera leaned in closer to Kimbar. "Do you think she did it?"

"I don't know..."

* * *

"So this Kimbar guy had a thing with Valerie Hinze? Do you think her husband found out?" Vera and Jeffries had just returned from their interview and were gathered around Stillman, along with Lilly and Scotty.

"No I don't think so. Kimbar would have probably told us if he had." Vera was munching on a Snickers bar while he gave his report. Stillman wrinkled his nose.

"I wish you wouldn't eat that in here. It makes us look bad." He was about to ask another question when he caught sight of Rush's face. "Something bothering you, Lil?"

Lilly snapped to attention. "What? No. Just thinking." She had been thinking about, in fact, whether or not to tell Stillman that Tessa Williams had come to her house last night, and would again tonight. She decided against it. "I'm fine," she reassured him.

"Oh, alright then. I guess you lot should head home. There's nothing to really do until we find out the name of the woman who made the call to the police."

* * *

On her way home, Lilly stopped at a McDonald's to pick up some food. She ordered two Big Macs, fries, and a Coke for Tessa and a salad for herself. She was surprised to find the girl already on her porch when she returned home. "I thought it was supposed to be ten before you showed."

"Yeah, well, I'm hungry, okay?" Tessa straightened up from her relaxed position and stretched. Lilly stepped out of the car and walked up the driveway. She reached in the bag and pulled out one of the Big Macs and tossed it to Tessa. The girl caught it easily. Lilly tossed her the other one, which again was deftly caught. "You better not throw my fries or Coke."

"How'd you know I got you fries and a Coke?"

"What's a meal from McDonald's without fries and a Coke?"

Lilly could not think up an answer for this one, so she just began on her salad instead. They ate in silence for a while, or at least Lilly ate and Tessa wolfed down her food. "You'll get indigestion from eating that fast." Lilly noted as the girl slurped the remains of the drink.

"Yeah, well, when you haven't eaten a real meal in five days, you tend to get kinda excited."

As Lilly finished her salad, she took a deep breath. Now the hard part was about to begin; she had to question Tessa without the girl realizing what she was doing. "Five days? You've been missing for seven years."

Tessa gave Lilly a mistrustful glance. "Yeah, and?" Lilly didn't reply, but pulled out the picture of seven-year-old Tessa sitting on the porch steps. She handed it silently to the young teenager. Tessa took it, her eyes widening for only a second. "I remember this. This was taken when I first got here." She gave a mirthless snort of laughter. "Some welcome that was..."

* * *

_ "Okay, that's over and done with." Chris Hinze thrusts a disposable camera into his wife's hands. "Now go and get this thing developed so you can put it in your stupid scrapbook or whatever." He storms into the house, almost trampling the little girl on the porch steps as he goes._

_ "Can I come with you, Aunt Valerie?" The little girl hops down the steps to her aunt's side. "Please?" She doesn't say " 'Cause I want to get away from Uncle Chris" but it's what she's thinking._

_ Her aunt smiles indulgently. "Alright. We can do some shopping while we wait. Okay?" She laughs when her niece makes a face; she's always hated shopping. As they walk to the car, something makes Tessa turn around. Her uncle is framed in the window. He notices her looking and closes the drapes. But that's not what scares the little girl. What scares her is the fact that her uncle was almost snarling..._

_

* * *

_

"Yeah. Good times all around." Tessa turned it over and noticed the message on the back. Her brows furrowed as she looked from it to Lilly. "Who sent this?"

Lilly took the picture back. "I was hoping you could me. It was probably sent by whoever killed your aunt." She was hoping fervently for a straight answer. She was disappointed.

The girl's face became stony. "Yeah, probably." Lilly sighed.

"Look, if you just tell me what happened, then we can wrap this case up." She started when Tessa jumped to her feet.

"Yeah, well, too bad." She muttered as she once again vaulted off the porch. She called back over her shoulder "And it's okay if you tell your boss. I won't mind." And then she was gone. Lilly stayed where she was for a few minutes before getting up and unlocking her door. As she turned the key in the lock she muttered "God, I want to strangle her right now..."


End file.
